Combination crane



Oct. 5, 1965 M. A. DE CUIR 3,209,920

COMBINATION CRANE Filed Feb. 12, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 M/zc/mfl A. fie ("u/r INVENTOR.

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Oct. 5, 1965 M. A. DE CUIR COMBINATION CRANE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 12, 1964 INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,209,920 COMBINATION CRANE Mitchell A. De Cuir, Nacogdoches, Tex., assignor to T. S. Decuir, Geismar, La. Filed Feb. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 344,488 Claims. (Cl. 21258) The invention herein taught is an improvement over the invention taught and claimed in a co-pending application entitled Combination 3-in-One Mobile Crane, by Mitchell A. De Cuir, filed July 22, 1963, hearing United States Patent application Serial No. 296,665, and is a contination-in-part thereof.

This invention relates to a combination crane which is suitable for a plurality of uses to perform certain lifting operations. More particularly, the invention relates to a combination crane which may be mobile and which may be used as a counter balancing crane, or as a guy crane, or as a regular lifting crane, or as an improved crane for performing certain lifting operations that cannot be readily done by existing cranes.

There has long been need for a crane which could be used to lift exceptionally heavy weights and/or lighter weights to a considerable height, and which at the same time could be used to lift weights over nearby objects which might otherwise prevent the crane from benig placed in close proximity to the position where the weight is to be deposited or to be lifted from.

The prior art shows many teachings of non-mobile guy derricks and cranes, but none of them include all of the foregoing features, and particularly the feature with respect to being able to project the boom radially outward and at the same time reaching over near-by obstacles.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a combination crane, which can be used in a plurality of manners for accomplishing certain heretofore difficult lifting operations.

Another object of this invention is to provide a mobile crane which can be quickly and easily placed in operation, and which has a boom and a gantry arrangement which permits the boom to be pivoted at a point between its upper end and lower end so as to increase the radial distances that a load may be moved in any one particular setting of the crane.

These and other objects will be evident by reference to the description herein and the accompanying drawings.

Briefly stated, the invention herein comprises a platform mounted for generally horizontal rotation on a support means. A mast is pivotally mounted on the platform for rotation with the platform. This mast is so arranged that it may be pivoted through a vertical arc during operation of the crane. A boom is also pivotally mounted on the platform for rotation with the platform and mast, and is adapted for pivotal movement through another vertical are. This boom may be secured to the lower end of the mast, or may be separately mounted on the platform a short distance from the mounting of the mast, but in either event the term mounted adjacent the lower end of said mast will be used to cover both arrangements.

The boom is provided with a releasable pivot means, which means is situated between the upper and lower ends of the boom. When the pivot means is not released, the boom can be maintained in a rigid position and the crane operated in a manner taught in the above referred to co-pending application. When the pivot means is released, the upper portion of the boom may be pivoted outward in relation to the lower portion of the boom.

There is also provided gantry means which means are connected to the upper portion of the mast and which are adapted for securing to the releasable pivot means in a fixed relationship so that that portion of the boom below 3,263,923 Patented Oct. 5, 1965 ice the pivot means may be rigidly held in a fixed relationship with respect to the mast.

Means are also secured to the top of the mast and to that portion of the boom above the releasable pivot point, which means may be used for a raising and lowering the boom independent of the movement of the mast. Hence, the boom may be moved relative to the mast while the boom is in a rigid condition. Then when the releasable pivot means on the boom is released, the top portion of the boom may be rotated or pivoted relative to the mast.

While the description herein will be generally directed to a mobile crane, i.e., a crane wherein the platform is mounted on a crawler or the like, it is to be understood that the invention herein may also be adaptable for use in a fixed position.

It is to be further understood that the platform or cab of the crane is provided with drums and self-contained power means for raising and lowering the mast and boom, for lifting the load, and for rotating the platform.

The invention is illustrated by the drawings wherein the same numerals refer to corresponding parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the crane taught in the above referred to co-pending application, but in which the boom is provided with two sections and showing how the crane may be used as a fixed guy derrick.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view of the crane shown in FIG. 2, but showing the releasable pivot means of the boom in operation.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged isometric view of the top gantry of the crane shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged isometric view of the releasable pivot means of the boom shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation of one alternative embodiment of the upper gantry means of this invention.

FIG. 1 generally shows the mobile crane as taught in the above referred to co-pending application. It will be seen that cab 11 is mounted on crawler 12 and hence is a mobile crane. Mast 13 is pivotally mounted on the cab 11 for movement through a vertical arc. The top part of mast 13 is provided with a spider 14 which is rotatable on the top of mast 13. The mast is shown being held in position by guy lines 15, thus permitting the crane to be used as a fixed guy derrick.

In maneuvering the mast in position, there is provided a cab gantry arrangement which includes a pair of spaced apart gantry arms 16 on either side of cab 11 which are connected to a pair of spaced apart gantry extension straps 17 which connect at their upper ends to topping lift 18, the upper end of which is connected to mast pennant cable 19, which is in turn secured to the upper portion of mast 13 by connector 20. Gantry arms 16 are held from upward movement by gantry cable 24 which is secured to the back end of cab 11. Hence, the mast 13 can be rotated through a vertical are when guy lines 15 are removed by drawing on mast line 25 to thereby operate topping lift 18.

A boom is pivotally mounted adjacent the lower end of mast 13 which boom has lower section 28 and upper section 29 secured together by bolts or otherwise at connecting point 36. Hence, it may be said that the boom is also pivotally mounted for movement through another vertical arc and is also adapted for rotation with mast 13 and cab 11. The upper end of the boom is provided with a boom head 31 to which is connected a pair of link arms 32, the upper ends of which are connected a topping lift 33, which in turn is connected to a pair of link arms 34 pivotally connected to the upper portion of mast 13. The boom may be raised and lowered relative to mast 13 by taking up on boom line 35, which passes over sheaves 36 and 37 on the side of mast 13 and over sheaves 38 and 39 mounted at the top of mast 13.

Boom head 31 is also provided with another pair of link arms 40 which support fall 41, which is connected to traveling block 42, which supports load hook 43. Hence, the load may be lifted and supported by taking up on load line 44, which passes over sheaves 45 and 46 on the boom and over sheaves 47 and 48 in boom head 31.

The top of cab 11 is provided with a pair of spaced apart inclined members 51, which are attached to cab 11. These form a part of the safety mechanism of the crane to prevent the rearward movement of the crane and boom beyond a tip-over point. The balance of this safety mechanism is comprised of a pair of elongated back arms 52 attached on opposite sides of mast 13 by pin 53. The bottom end of back arms 52 are each provided with rollers 54, which engage inclined members 51 when the boom and mast are moved rearwardly beyond a safe position of operation, i.e., beyond a pointwhere the crane could possibly tip over. The top end of back arms 52 are hingedly connected to a pair of front arms 55, the bottom ends of which. are secured on either side of lower section 28 of the boom by pin 56. Thus, the rearward movement of the boom or rearward movement of mast 13, or the movement of the two together will cause rollers 54 to contact inclined members 51 when there is danger of the crane tipping over. The foregoing generally describes one embodiment of the invention taught in the above referred to copending application.

Referring now to FIG. 2, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. It will be observed that the crane shown in FIG. 2 is the same as the crane shown in the FIG. 1 with the exception that guy lines shown in FIG. 1 have been removed and certain additional parts have been added to the crane in FIG. 2, which parts will now be described in detail. In FIG. 2 a supplemental section having a releasable pivot means generally shown as pivot member 60 has been inserted above the lower section 28 of the boom and below the upper section 29; thus making a much longer boom with pivot member 68 held in a rigid position. As shown in FIG. 2, the crane may be used to lift weights to great heights.

The details of pivot member 66 are best shown by reference to FIG. 5. There it will be observed that upper portion 61 and lower portion 62 of the supplemental section are held together by pivot pin 63 which extends transversely through the two members thereby providing a means for pivoting upper portion 61 with respect to lower portion 62. It will be observed that pin 63 extends out the side of lower portion 62 so that clamps may be fitted thereto as will be explained hereinafter. The under side of the boom, or the right side of the boom as shown in FIG. 2 and 5, is provided with a hinged support member 64 which is a flat heavy piece of metal having three holes 65 near the lower end thereof, which mate with holes 66 in cross brace 67 of lower portion 62. Support member 64 is attached to a hinge flap 68, which is secured to upper portion 61 by bolts 69. When it is desirable to have the crane with the boom held in a rigid position as shown in FIG. 2, then support member 64 would be bolted to cross brace 67 by bolts passing through holes 65 and 66. It is to be understood that other means for rigidifying the boom could be substitued satisfactorily. When it becomes desirable to release the pivot means, then support member 64 can be disconnected from cross brace 67, thereby permitting upper portion 61 to pivot with respect to lower portion 62. Sheaves 58 and 59 are mounted on the back side respectively of upper portion 61 and lower portion 62 and are for the purpose of permitting the load line 44 to pass thereover during operation of the crane.

In addition, the crane shown in FIG. 2 is provided with an upper gantry means attached to the upper end of mast 13. The details of this upper gantry means are best shown in FIG. 4. There it will be observed that mast 13 is provided with mast head 70. Mast head 70 is provided with three pairs of lugs 71, 72 and 73, spaced on either side of elongated opening 74 in the top of the mast head 70. Link arms 34 are secured to lugs 71. Lugs 72 support sheave 75 and lower lugs 73 support sheave 76, and in addition, the upper portion of base brace 77 is connected thereto. Base brace 77 is comprised of two bars forming a yoke, and each bar having a triangular shaped extension 78 formed therewith. The forward end of extension 78 is provided with notches 79 on the lower side thereof, which notches are shaped for clamping over pivot pin 63 of the releasable pivot means shown in FIG. 5.

Extensions 78 are spaced sufficiently wide that they will fit on either side of lower portion 62 of the reasonable pivot means during operation of the crane. In addition, a pair of fore arms 80 are attached to the upper corners of extensions 78 by pin 81 for pivoting thereabout. The upper ends of fore arms 80 are attached to the upper end of link arms 34 by pin 82 and is likewise pivotal therewith. Link arms 34 are attached to sheave 83, which forms a part of topping lift 33. Just below sheave 83 and between fore arms 80 another sheave 84 is positioned. The operation of the crane will now be explained.

The boom could be initially boom up as shown in FIG. 2 with boom line 35 passing over sheave 38 on top of mast 13, and under sheave 75, which is on the oppo site side of the mast from sheave 38. The operator could continue to draw mast 13 and upper section 29 of the boom together. The weight of the boom will cause topping lift 33 to be taught which would thereby lift base brace 77 upward the closer the mast 13 and boom are drawn together. Mast 13 is of such a length as to place base brace 77, and more specifically notches 79 on the bottom of base brace 77 over pivot pin 63 where they may be clamped by means of a nut or other securing means as shown in FIG. 3. With the upper gantry means thus secured to the pivot means of the boom, support member 64 of the pivot means is released by removing the bolts that would be passing through holes 65 and 66. At this point, upper section 29 of the boom could then be pivoted outward and downward as shown in FIG. 3. This could be done by letting out on mast line 35 with the boom line 35 passing over sheave 38, and under sheave 75, and connecting to topping lift 33.

The load could be lifted and supported by taking up on load line 44 which would raise and lower hook 43 and traveling block 42. With the load so supported, it could be moved circumferentially by turning cab 11 on crawler 12, and it could be moved radially inward and outward by raising or lowering upper section 29 of the boom, or by moving mast 13 and lower portion 62 of the boom together.

In some instances, it may be desirable to add a supplemental weight for counter balancing purposes. Such a weight is shown by dotted lines as supplemental weight 86 secured to top of mast 13 by cable 87. This would then permit the raising of much larger loads without fear of tipping the crane over. At the same time weight 86 could swing circumferentially with cab 11.

It will be observed that the upper gantry means described above is comprised of rigid members which are pivotally secured to the upper portion of the mast, and are so arranged that they project upwardly from the top of the mast when in a raised position, such as shown in FIG. 3. During operation of the crane, when the releasable pivot means are released, then lower portion 62 of the boom, and the top of the mast are held in fixed relationship. It will also be observed that the mast is of a greater length than the length of the boom below the releasable pivot means.

There are, of course, many alternatives with the invention herein. For example, the releasable pivot means shown in FIG. 5 could be arranged such that the pivot point is on the outside edge of the boom, thus permitting the boom to be collapsed or folded up during raising and lowering. In some instances the upper gantry means can consist of a somewhat simpler arrangement. For example, in FIG. 6 the gantry means is a pair of spaced apart braces 88, each of which have notches on the lower end thereof which fit over pivot pin 63. These notches are clamped over pivot pin 63 by nuts or the like. It is advantageous to have the mast 13 of a greater length than the height of the boom below the releasable pivot point so as to reduce compression forces on upper section 29 of the boom and to reduce strain on topping lift 33.

Other means may be used to release the releasable pivot means, as for example, a latch arrangement which could be electrically operated from cab 11.

Thus, it will be noted that the art has been provided with a highly versatile crane which is adapted to a plurality of uses. It can perform certain lifting operations which no other crane can conveniently do.

Further modifications may be made in the invention as particularly described without departing from the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description is to be construed illustratively only and is not to be construed as a limitation upon the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A crane comprising in combination:

a platform mounted for generally horizontal rotation on a support means,

a mast pivotally mounted on said platform for rotation therewith and for pivotal movement through a first vertical are,

a boom pivotally mounted adjacent the lower end of said mast for rotation with said platform and said mast and adapted for pivotal movement through a second vertical arc,

said boom having releasable pivot means between the upper and lower ends thereof for pivoting the upper portion of said boom in relation to the lower portion of said boom,

means secured to said mast and said boom for raising and lowering said boom independent of the move ment of said mast through said first are, and

gantry means connected to the upper portion of said mast and adapted for securing to said releasable pivot means in a fixed relationship therewith when said pivot means is released.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said gantry means includes a rigid member which is pivotally secured to the upper portion of said mast and is of such length as to project upwardly from the top of said mast when in the raised position.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said gantry means includes a rigid member which is pivotally secured to the upper portion of said mast and is adapted to be secured to said releasable pivot means, whereby said mast and said lower portion of said boom may be held in fixed relationship during operation of said releasable pivot means.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said mast is of a greater length than said lower portion of said boom below said releasable pivot means.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said boom has a lower section, an upper section, and a supplemental section therebetween,

and said supplemental section is provided with said releasable pivot means.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said platform is mounted for generally horizontal rotation on mobile support means.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

said means secured to said mast and said boom for raising and lowering said boom includes a first topping lift, and wherein a second topping lift is connected between the top of said mast and said platform for pivoting said mast through said first vertical arc.

8. A crane comprising in combination:

a mobile support means,

a platform mounted for generally horizontal rotation on said support means,

a mast pivotally mounted on said platform for rotation therewith and for pivotal movement through a first vertical are,

a boom pivotally mounted adjacent the lower end of said mast for rotation with said platform and said mast and adapted for pivotal movement through a second vertical are,

said boom having releasable pivot means between the upper and lower ends thereof for pivoting the upper portion of said boom in relation to the lower portion of said boom,

a first topping lift secured to the upper portion of said mast and to said boom for raising and lowering said boom independent of the movement of said mast through said first vertical arc,

a second topping lift connected between the upper portion of said mast and said platform for pivoting said mast through said first vertical arc, and

a rigid gantry means pivotally secured to the upper portion of said mast and having means for securing to said releasable pivot means, whereby said mast and said lower portion of said boom may be held in fixed relationship during operation of said releasable pivot means.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 including:

attaching means rotatably mounted on said mast for securing guy means thereto during operation as a References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 885,803 4/08 Terry 212l44 2,869,735 1/59 Page 2'12l44 2,972,199 2/61 Learmont 2l2-144 X SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A CRANE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A PLATFORM MOUNTED FOR GENERALLY HORIZONTAL ROTATION ON A SUPPORT MEANS, A MAST PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON SAID PLATFORM FOR ROTATION THEREWITH AND FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT THROUGH A FIRST VERTICAL ARC, A BOOM PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ADJACENT THE LOWER END OF SAID MAST FOR ROTATION WITH SAID PLATFORM AND SAID MAST AND ADAPTED FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT THROUGH A SECOND VERTICAL ARC, SAID BOOM HAVING RELEASABLE PIVOT MEANS BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWER ENDS THEREOF FOR PIVOTING THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID BOOM IN RELATION TO THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID BOOM, MANS SECURED TO SAID MAST AND SAID BOOM FOR RAISING AND LOWERING SAID BOOM INDEPENDENT OF THE MOVEMENT OF SAID MAST THROUGH SAID FIRST ARC, AND 